When school counselor Dianne Brenden visits with a student who is not dealing with life in a healthy way, one of the first questions she asks might surprise you: “How's your eating?” “I (offer) a lot of energy bars” and cereal bars, said Brenden, who has been a counselor at Aberdeen's Holgate Middle School for 11 years. Jill Stephenson, a counselor at Aberdeen Central High School, also keeps power bars in her desks for students in emotional distress. “This concept that you can make it through the day on a bag of chips is a concern,” Stephenson said. Eating habits, they said, can affect students' behavior and mood. “Kids need to hear that the right food and exercise will make them feel better,” Brenden said. The message, Stephenson said, needs to be to look at healthy eating. The same message applies when combatting the growing problem of childhood obesity: nutrition and activity are key. The good news is that, according to a state Department of Health survey, the percentage of overweight and obese students in South Dakota dropped from 33.8 in 2005-06 to 32.9 percent in 2006-07. Still, Brenden, who has been a counselor in the Aberdeen school district for a total of 14 years, said she's noticed an increase in obesity during her time with the district. Childhood obesity - the trend of students who are inactive and have poor diets - is a huge concern, she said. “When the word epidemic is used, I don't think it's too strong,” she said. But what about about going too far the other way? For parents worried about kids developing an unhealthy body image or even an eating disorder, the message is still the same: The counselors said the key is to encourage a healthy diet and physical activity. In an eating disorder, the issue isn't just food, Stephenson said - it's body image. So it's important to stress an acceptance of body type, she said. For instance, a muscular, healthy body is going to weigh more than a thin, emaciated body, she said. In either issue, it's important not to focus on a child's weight, Brenden said. “I think you can give the right messages without being critical ... or shaming,” she said. Healthy eating starts at home, Brenden said. “I truly do think family plays a critical role in getting children on the path to healthy eating,” she said. Brenden said she and her husband, Tom, and daughter, Hannah, 13, an eighth-grader at Holgate, try to eat fast food no more than once a week. If they're going to eat something unhealthy, they will try to have something healthy along with it. Brenden said she tries to have plenty of fruits and vegetables on hand, so when her daughter goes for a snack, “it's not just chips and candy.” “I think it's just a deliberate attention to what we're eating,” she said. Her family also participates in physical activity together, from taking walks to shooting hoops. Activities for kids are not just about physical fitness, Brenden said, but “any activity that (gets) your child off the couch.”